The use of virgin carbon black has been widely studied by researchers as a performance-enhancing additive in asphalt pavement mixes. Using carbon black filler in asphalt compositions improves rutting resistance, reduces temperature susceptibility, reduces stripping potential, and improves wear resistance.
There have been many attempts to recycle tires and other rubber products to reclaim usable hydrocarbons through the use of a process called pyrolysis. Through pyrolysis, tires and other oil based compounds are processed to produce fuel and other hydrocarbon compounds. One particular byproduct resulting from the pyrolysis process is an ash or char material which is leftover after the process is complete. Attempts have been made to use this char as a low grade carbon black for use as a type of filler. However, this has been met with several disadvantages, most significantly the disadvantage of the impurities in the char resulting from the random distribution of particle size of the char as well as unwanted impurities such as ash. Additionally the surface chemistry of the particles has an effect on the ability of the carbon black material to be used as a filler material and some of the past attempts have yielded black carbon agglomerate particles having unfavorable surface chemistry. Thus there exists a need to provide reclaimed carbonaceous mixtures that are suitable for use as a high grade filler material comparable to virgin carbon black material.